What are special or extraordinary expenses (section 7) in Ontario child support?

Section 7 expenses are child costs paid on top of the monthly table amount: child care, health and dental premiums, uninsured health costs, some school costs, post-secondary education and some activities. The court adds them only if they are necessary and reasonable. Parents share the net cost in proportion to their incomes, after the child's contribution and after subsidies and tax benefits.

The monthly table amount is only part of a child support order. Our page on child support in Ontario explains how the table amount is set from the paying parent's income and the number of children. This page deals with the second part, the amount "determined under section 7", which section 3(1)(b) of the guidelines adds to the table amount. Section 7 has the same number and almost the same words in the Federal Child Support Guidelines (used in a divorce) and the Ontario Child Support Guidelines (used in a Family Law Act case), so the rules below apply to married and unmarried parents alike.

How does a section 7 claim work, step by step?

1. Identify the expense and its cost. Collect the invoice, the receipt or a written estimate; section 7(1) allows an expense to be estimated.
2. Ask for it in the right document. In a new case, the claim goes in the application (Form 8) or the answer (Form 10). In an existing case, it goes in a motion to change (Form 15) or a consent motion to change. Parents can also agree on section 7 expenses in a written separation agreement.
3. Serve the financial disclosure. A party who files a financial statement on a support claim must also serve proof of the amount of any special or extraordinary expenses (Family Law Rules, r. 13(3.1), paragraph 3). The parent who would receive the money must also produce their own income documents, because the cost is shared by income (guidelines, s. 21(3)).
4. The court tests each expense. It asks whether the expense is necessary in relation to the child's best interests, and whether it is reasonable in relation to the parents' means, the child's means and the family's spending before separation (s. 7(1)).
5. The net cost is worked out. The court must take into account subsidies, benefits and income tax deductions or credits for the expense, and any eligibility to claim them (s. 7(3)). Any contribution from the child is deducted (s. 7(2)).
6. The net cost is shared by income. The guiding principle is that each parent pays in proportion to their income (s. 7(2)).
7. The order spells it out. A child support order must state the particulars of each section 7 expense, the child it relates to, and the amount or, if the amount cannot be set, the proportion each parent pays (s. 13(e)).

The claim is filed in the family court for the area where the case belongs. If you live in Toronto, our guide to which Toronto family court handles your case explains how cases are divided between the courthouses.

What are the six categories, and how is each one shared?

An expense that does not fit one of the six paragraphs is not a section 7 expense; ordinary costs of raising a child come out of the table amount.

What is the difference between "special" and "extraordinary"?

The heading of section 7 says "special or extraordinary expenses", but only two of the six categories have to be extraordinary: school and special programs under paragraph (d), and extracurricular activities under paragraph (f). Child care, the child's insurance premiums, uninsured health costs over $100 a year and post-secondary expenses do not have to pass that test. They still have to be necessary and reasonable.

Section 7(1.1) defines "extraordinary expenses" for paragraphs (d) and (f) in two steps. First, an expense is extraordinary if it exceeds what the parent asking for it can reasonably cover, taking into account that parent's income and the table amount they receive. Second, if that first test does not apply, the court decides whether the expense is extraordinary by looking at five factors: the amount of the expense compared with the requesting parent's income including the table amount, the nature and number of the programs and activities, any special needs and talents of the child, the overall cost of the programs and activities, and any other similar factor the court considers relevant.

So the same activity can be extraordinary in one family and ordinary in another. A weekly lesson may be well within what a parent can cover from their income and the table amount, while several competitive programs for a talented child may not be. The answer depends on the numbers in your family, which is why the definition starts with the requesting parent's own income.

What do "necessary" and "reasonable" mean here?

Every section 7 expense, in every category, is weighed against two standards in section 7(1). Necessity is measured "in relation to the child's best interests". Reasonableness is measured against the means of the parents and of the child, and against how the family spent money on the child before the separation. The federal wording refers to "the family's spending pattern prior to the separation"; the Ontario wording refers to the parents' spending pattern "in respect of the child during cohabitation". Both ask whether this is the kind of expense the family paid for, and whether it is affordable now.

The court may also allow only part of a cost: section 7(1) speaks of "all or any portion" of the expense.

How is the cost shared between the parents?

The guiding principle in section 7(2) is that the expense is shared "in proportion to their respective incomes after deducting from the expense, the contribution, if any, from the child." Income for this purpose is worked out under the same income rules as the rest of the guidelines, with one adjustment: Schedule III, section 3.1, deducts spousal support paid to the other parent and makes adjustments for the universal child care benefit.

If one parent earns $90,000 and the other $60,000, their combined income is $150,000; the first pays 60 per cent of each net section 7 expense and the second pays 40 per cent. Section 7(2) calls proportional sharing the "guiding principle", so it is the starting point for every expense the court allows.

How do subsidies and tax deductions change the amount?

Section 7(3) says the court "must take into account any subsidies, benefits or income tax deductions or credits relating to the expense, and any eligibility to claim" them. If a child care fee is partly subsidized, only the unsubsidized part is shared. If the parent who pays the fee can claim a tax deduction or credit for it, the court looks at the cost after that tax benefit. The test includes eligibility: a parent who could claim a subsidy or credit but does not cannot shift the full price to the other parent.

There is one exception. Under section 7(4), the court does not take into account any universal child care benefit, or eligibility to claim it, when it determines a section 7 expense.

What about university or college costs?

Post-secondary education is its own category, paragraph (e). It does not have to be extraordinary. The guidelines do not list the items, so each cost the parent asks for is tested for necessity and reasonableness like any other expense. The child's own contribution is deducted before the parents share the rest (s. 7(2)), and the Ontario guidelines name loans, scholarships and bursaries as things that can affect the expense. The Ontario guidelines require a parent who pays support to give updated information on written request, not more than once a year, about the status of section 7 expenses and about any loan, scholarship or bursary the child has received that affects them (Ontario guidelines, s. 25(1)(b)).

Most students are 18 or older, so the rest of the support calculation may also change. Section 3(2) lets the court use the table approach for an adult child or, if that is inappropriate, an amount based on the child's condition, means, needs and circumstances and each parent's ability to pay. Our guide on whether child support stops at 18 explains those rules.

What changes the answer?

• The parenting schedule. Paragraph (a) is written around child care costs of the parent who has the majority of parenting time, defined as more than 60 per cent over a year (s. 2(1)). If parenting time is close to equal, the monthly amount is set under section 9 instead; see how child support is set with shared parenting time.
• Income over $150,000. The court may set a different amount above $150,000, but section 7 expenses are still added (s. 4(b)(iii)).
• Undue hardship. A court may award a different amount if a parent or child would otherwise suffer undue hardship (s. 10), but a claim is refused if the claiming household would still have the higher standard of living (s. 10(3)).
• An agreement or a consent order. Parents can agree on a different arrangement, and a court may approve it if reasonable arrangements have been made for the child (Divorce Act, s. 15.1(7); Family Law Act, s. 33(14)).
• Special provisions for the child. If property or other arrangements already benefit the child, the court may depart from the guidelines where applying them would be inequitable (Divorce Act, s. 15.1(5); Family Law Act, s. 33(12)).
• Where the other parent lives. If they live abroad, their income is set as if they lived in Canada and the share is worked out from that income; see child support when a parent lives outside Canada.

A worked example

For example, imagine Shirin and Babak, who separated last year and live in Richmond Hill and North York. Their two children live with Shirin most of the time. Shirin earns $60,000 and Babak earns $90,000, and Babak pays the table amount for two children. Shirin asks for three section 7 expenses: after-school care while she works, $7,000 a year; braces for their daughter, $6,000, of which Babak's workplace plan covers $3,000; and competitive figure skating for their son, $9,000 a year. Both children also go to Saturday Persian classes, $800 a year.

The after-school care falls under paragraph (a). The court looks at the cost after any subsidy and after the tax deduction or credit Shirin can claim, then splits that net cost 60 per cent to Babak and 40 per cent to Shirin. The braces fall under paragraph (c): the uninsured $3,000 is more than $100, so Babak pays $1,800 and Shirin $1,200. The skating falls under paragraph (f), so it must be extraordinary under section 7(1.1). The court may find that $9,000 is more than Shirin can reasonably cover from her income and the table amount; the son's talent and past spending also count. The Persian classes may be treated as an ordinary cost covered by the table amount, or as a modest extracurricular cost that is not extraordinary. The order lists each expense and each parent's share (s. 13(e)). This is a hypothetical walk-through, not a prediction of any result. Families who want to discuss a claim like this in Farsi can read about our work with Persian-speaking families in Toronto.

What mistakes do parents make?

1. Assuming every child expense is a section 7 expense. Ordinary costs come out of the table amount; only the six listed categories qualify.
2. Enrolling first and asking later. An expensive program chosen without discussion is harder to defend as reasonable.
3. Sharing the gross price. Subsidies, tax deductions, credits and the child's own contribution come off first (s. 7(2) and (3)).
4. Leaving the order vague. "Parents share extracurricular costs" invites the next dispute; section 13(e) expects the expense, the child and the amount or proportion to be stated.
5. Not keeping receipts. Proof of the amount of each expense must be served with the financial statement (Family Law Rules, r. 13(3.1)), and enforcement of a shared cost is much easier with records.
6. Never updating. Expenses end and new ones start. The guidelines give a yearly right to updated information (s. 25(1)(b)); a change in the expenses may justify a change to the order, explained in how to change a support order in Ontario.

What to do this week

1. List every child expense you pay now, and mark which of the six categories each one fits, if any.
2. Gather receipts, invoices, insurance statements and any subsidy or tax documents for each expense.
3. Write down what the family spent on these items before the separation, with dates.
4. Collect your last three years of tax returns and notices of assessment, since your income sets your share; our guide to which financial statement to file lists the other documents.
5. Before enrolling a child in anything costly, send the other parent a short written proposal with the cost and your suggested split.
6. If the other parent has stopped paying their share under an existing order, read what the Family Responsibility Office can do.

Frequently asked questions

Is private school a section 7 expense?

It can be, under paragraph (d), if it is extraordinary under section 7(1.1) and necessary and reasonable under section 7(1). The family's history with that school, the child's needs and the parents' incomes all matter. A school that meets a child's particular needs is expressly mentioned in paragraph (d).

Do I need the other parent's consent before signing up a child for an activity?

The guidelines do not require advance consent, but the court looks at necessity, reasonableness and the family's past spending. An order or agreement can add its own consent clause. Without consent, expect the reasonableness of the cost to be tested.

Can section 7 expenses be paid as a fixed monthly amount?

Yes, an expense may be estimated (s. 7(1)), and the order can set an amount. Where the amount cannot be fixed, the order can set the proportion each parent pays instead (s. 13(e)).

Does the child have to contribute to university costs?

The guidelines deduct "the contribution, if any, from the child" before the parents share the expense (s. 7(2)). Whether a contribution is expected, and how much, depends on the child's means and circumstances.

Can the online Child Support Service add or change section 7 expenses?

Ontario's online service can set up or update child support in limited cases. It cannot recalculate an amount that includes post-secondary expenses, and it will not update support automatically if special expenses are being changed. Changes of that kind usually go through an agreement or the court.

Sarbazevatan Law acts for parents on child support and section 7 expense claims, in English and Persian (Farsi). Call +1 (416) 628-2041 or reach us through the contact page.